Second-year Alabama coach Anthony Grant was surrounded by reporters when he entered the Broadway Lounge of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Times Square on Monday afternoon, to meet with the media a day prior to the NIT semifinals at Madison Square Garden.

Except, no one really wanted to talk about the Crimson Tide (except Grant, that is). Instead, Grant fielded question after question about Virginia Commonwealth, his former school, which extended its Cinderella run all the way to the Final Four by beating Kansas on Sunday.

"It's a tremendous accomplishment," Grant said. "It's very rare to see teams from non-BCS conferences that have a chance to do what they've done. So I think it speaks volumes of the job that Shaka [Smart] and his staff have done, the team, the administration at VCU."

While the college basketball world is buzzing about next weekend’s NCAA tournament Final Four in Houston, we've got a Final Four of our own right here in our backyard, competing for the National Invitation Tournament championship.

It may lack the prestige of the Big Dance, but four quality teams have descended on the Big Apple this week -- three teams from BCS conferences, and a member of one of the best mid-major conferences in the country. They'll play on Tuesday and Thursday nights at Madison Square Garden, airing on ESPN2. And here's a preview of what you'll see:

PREDICTION

Alabama's defense is strong enough for the Crimson Tide to prevail over Colorado, while Klay Thompson has a big game in leading Washington State over Wichita State. And in the championship game on Thursday night, Alabama puts the shackles on Thompson, and Anthony Grant gets to hoist the NIT trophy, before watching his former players take on Butler in a fairy-tale NCAA national semifinal.

The Alabama football team practiced for the fourth time in the 2011 Spring Football Practice period on Saturday. The full pads practice was moved inside the Hank Crisp Indoor Facility due to rain in the Tuscaloosa area.

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-Brandon Moore has joined Robby Green in being indefinitely suspended.

-Tyler Love was absent from Saturday's practice. Coach Saban indicated that he took a blow to the head and could possibly have a concussion. Details pending.

- The same group of guys who had been practicing in black are still in black - Mark Barron (pectoral), Jarrick Williams (shoulder), Nick Perry (shoulder), Jonathan Atchison (bicep), and Brad Smelley (wrist). Only Barron is thought to be out for an extended period.

-Coach Saban indicated in the his post practice news conference that Dee Hart, Trey DePriest, and Vinnie Sunseri have stood out among the early enrollee freshmen.

-Coach Saban indicated that D. Hart could make an immediate impact on special teams

-Hart has spent all of his time as close to Trent Richardson as possible, soaking up the knowledge that the veteran has. C.J. Mosley did this with Dont'a Hightower last year, and that paid dividends.

-Coach Saban also indicated that he expects all three of the junior college transfers to make an immediate impact. 

-Kellen Williams was a little thought of recruit coming out of high school and has impressed the staff with his ability to adjust to changes in technique.

TUSCALOOSA — A first-round NCAA loss or an NIT semifinal?

That was the debate among two fans in the Coleman Coliseum hallway Wednesday night. Alabama had just qualified for the latter, but the former is the measure of programs on the rise.

Taking a step back and looking big picture, the Crimson Tide program is best served playing for a title in New York. A Tuesday-night loss in Dayton on an obscure cable channel wouldn’t have created quite the momentum towards the next step in Anthony Grant’s master plan.

Strange as it may sound, the NIT is a blessing in disguise for Grant...